The throughput of communications between computing devices continues to increase as modern networking hardware enables physically separate computing devices to communicate with one another orders of magnitude faster than was previously possible. Consequently, data, including large quantities of data, can be transferred between computing devices within ever decreasing time frames. The processing of such data, therefore, need not be limited to the computing device on which such data is currently stored, as modern networking hardware enables such data to be communicated to one or more other computing devices, where such data can then be processed.
Because there exist a myriad of advantages to being able to transfer data, including large quantities of data, between computing devices, individuals, businesses, and other institutions, often do so, typically by purchasing network capacity from a network resource or service provider. Traditionally, such network capacity is purchased in discrete units of time, and at a particular bandwidth. For example, a business may seek to purchase network capacity for one month where such network capacity will provide the business with the ability to transfer one gigabit of data per second, for the entire month, over the network being provided by the network service provider. Network service providers then maintain, and provide access to, the relevant networking hardware to enable two or more disparate computing devices to communicate with one another and transfer data between one another.
Unfortunately, the purchase and sale of network capacity in units of time results in inefficiencies because typical network utilizations are not continuous, but rather can vary greatly. For example, a business may have purchased a sufficient capacity to transmit one gigabit of data per second, but it is likely that the business fully utilizes such capacity only infrequently, such as during normal business hours, or during scheduled data transfer operations. For the remaining time, the network capacity purchased by such a business remains unutilized. Unfortunately, however, the network service provider has had to invest time and resources in purchasing and maintaining networking hardware to provide the network capacity that was purchased by that network service provider's customers. When such capacity is unutilized, or underutilized, the investments made by the network service provider are simply spread out over a smaller number of customers or utilizations, resulting in inefficiencies, which are born both by the network service provider, and by its customers in the form of higher pricing.